Digitakt vs. Octatrack

Thanks for all the replies, talked me into it, pulled the trigger on a OT MKI. Watched a few quick tutorials and it doesn’t seem all the difficult to get started. Scenes look to be killer.

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I can confirm that it’s not THAT difficult to get started with the machine- if you’re approaching it organically/with the simplest intentions of making cool sounds. You’ll probably get along with it much easier, starting out, using it as a drum machine- and then slowly branch out from there.

A few things require a bit of digging to figure out how to do.

Off the top of my head- here are my tips:
-On THRU track, you have to place a trigger on the track in order to process the sound coming in.
-Access the sample edit page by hitting BANK while holding the specific track.
-To me, live sampling is easiest to understand by going to the FUNCTION+REC-AB page and placing a trigger on the sequencer to record.
-Parts are just like kits in the other Elektrons

I just recently reacquired an Octatrack again, after loving the DT for so long. I’m re-experiencing the magic of the OT. It’s a great machine!

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Pingpong vs Tennis ? :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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@Ryan thanks for the tips.

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Is there a reverb comparrison?

Some people compared DT’s reverb to AR’s and A4’s as equivalent, which seems logical. Some prefered one among others…
And some people knowing both prefered DT’s over OT’s apparently.
Don’t know about AR/A4 MKI/MKII differences.

All I can say is I prefer A4’s over OT’s (Dark Reverb beeing my favorite).

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I guess more specifically: does the DT do anything the OT can’t? Could they do interesting stuff together?

LFO through sample slots.

For percussion, the DT is easier to program- layout is more efficient.

DT Audio is more hi-fi than OT.

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A DT and OT combo would be fantastic.

I much prefer the DT for eking out leads and bass sounds from a sample but the OT can deliver a whole heap of crazy shit to things.

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I own both. DT is super fun and fairly easy to use, so you can get ideas mapped out really quickly. OT opens up very interesting worlds. There are things I prefer about each, but I’m very happy to have both. I haven’t really done anything crazy with combining em. A lot of my motivation for keeping the DT is having more tracks available when I need em

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I had both at once when digitakt was available for preorder. I wanted to learn more about the octatrack but I kept getting sidetracked with the instant gratification I got from digitakt. I should have just put the digitakt in the closet rather than selling it. I am now weighing my options on either rebuying a digitakt or getting a second octatrack.

I’m having a hard time with my decision. I already know the workflow of the digitakt but the lfo’s On the octatrack wins me over. Then I thought that I’d eventually get a digitone so maybe digitakt would be a better route.

See my delima?

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For me they’re good at different things. When I know I have very little time, but want to get something going, DT is my weapon of choice. When I have more time and want to go for something more experimental, it’s OT time. I’m glad I have both and I’d have a hard time deciding on either one. I’m looking forward to eventually having a permanent space for my gear, because these two will play very nicely together.

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If you are a soundscaping, sample slice n fx mangling, ‘full composition arranged a machine’ type go for the OT. You’ll enjoy its many extra functions; though it takes thought and work it is a very versatile machine.

If you want to cook up some grooves with samples and midi phrases in a more immediate workflow, hifi edge, sweet reverb and manually guide your performance through its structural stages, go for the DT. You’ll find it more fun and inspirational.

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Lmao! That’s not helping! But I do appreciate your view.

I may have to get both. Having a second ot does seem a bit redundant. However, I would like to have the mk2 version but I’d most likely get a used mk1. I don’t know how I’d be able to handle having two different versions of the ot sitting beside each other. OCD would kill me.

16 octatrack channels would be huge!

A fear I have with my luck I’d buy a digitakt and elektron would pop out a surprise mk2 version a month later with some features I would be mad I didn’t have.

I do love how easily things come with digitakt. But the same ease comes with I track with a little bit of setting up but once you’ve made templets the setup is nothing.

Grrr, the only thing really holding me back is money, time, and myself.

OT = 1.5 octaves
DT = 6 octaves

I might have the nums wrong. But more oct on DT

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DT for drum track, OT for mad sample mangling on top!! :slight_smile:

OT 2 octaves
DT 4 octaves?

DT can send Prog Changes at any step. Its midi sequencer accepts overlapping notes, where the OT cuts notes with a new one.
DT has Lfo on sample, and plockable lfo dest, but 1 lfo.

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I used to have the 2 but at the end the 2 major things that pushed me to return back the DT is the 1 GB +Drive storage and you cant zoom when you edit samples. Maybe one day i’ll rebuy again the DT… But for jamming with one shot samples, if you have OT and DT you can do a lot…

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Any serious test? I heard DT is slightly brighter, it can be an additional EQ.

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Well at least the reverb (same as AR, A4 and DN) sounds better than OT’s.

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